


I Owe You

by rhettjmc



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Never Met, Anal Fingering, Dirty Talk, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Hand Jobs, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Infidelity, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Masturbation, Panic Attacks, Quarantine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:21:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29785683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhettjmc/pseuds/rhettjmc
Summary: Rhett needs to get off, Link owes him a favour.
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal, Rhett McLaughlin/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 70





	I Owe You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Apparentlynotreallyfinnish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apparentlynotreallyfinnish/gifts).



> This fic wouldn't exist without Appa, thank you for the idea and for beta'ing - you are wonderful <3

By day ten, Rhett was ready to lose his mind. 

The room was too small, certainly not big enough for someone of his size to be sharing with another guy. The shower in the ensuite barely came up to his shoulders, his legs hung tragically off the end of his bed and the desk was so low he’d come out of quarantine with even more back problems. 

Like he needed any more problems. 

“Could you be any louder?” He had snapped, irritation prickling his skin as soon as his roommate had clumsily dragged his suitcase through the door - hitting the doorframe, wall and his own desk in his path. He didn’t want to spend the beginning of his college life trapped inside the same four walls for two weeks, he didn’t want to be away from his girlfriend for two weeks and he most certainly didn’t want to spend every waking moment with the bumbling jackass who had crashed through the door. 

That jackass had turned out to be named Link. A quiet, yet feisty boy who always had a retort to every jibe Rhett threw at him ( _ there had been a lot of those _ ). 

For the first seven days, they had been at each other’s throats, Link was constantly whining about how he didn’t like any of the pre-prepared meals the staff left outside their dorm room and Rhett wasn’t willing to share his stash of snacks. Rhett was always irritated whenever he had to shower in their tiny ensuite, the showerhead barely reached his chest, Link told him to stop being such a baby. Link tapped, hummed and rapped his knuckles against the desk whilst he studied, Rhett needed complete silence. Rhett needed the window cracked whilst he slept but Link’s hands and feet were always frozen. Link needed to call his Mom every night, at the same time and Rhett just wanted to get off over the phone with his girlfriend - seemingly impossible whenever Link droned _on and on_ _and on_ \- not stopping until his Mom needed to go to bed. After she had hung up, Link would sniffle and choke back a sob into his pillow and Rhett would simply roll his eyes, wondering how he ended up sharing a room with such a crybaby. 

In every aspect of life, they were polar opposites. Opposite ends of the spectrum. Chalk and cheese. 

Rhett was dying to get out of there. 

Until, on the seventh night, Rhett woke up to the sound of more crying, sniffling and whimpering. He was getting real tired of constantly being disturbed by Link being so damn sensitive. 

_ “Can you seriously not go one night without crying like a fucking bab-” Rhett began furiously, ripping open the bathroom door. He was met with the sight of Link hunched over the toilet, tears streaming down his scarlet cheeks, dry heaving and hiccuping back another sob.  _

_ “Link?” Rhett asked softly, shutting the bathroom door behind him as he stepped into Link’s space. “Are you sick? Should we get a test or something?”  _

_ Letting out a shaky breath, Link replied, “No.” _

_ “Then what’s wrong?” Rhett pressed on, hands awkwardly fidgeting by his sides like they suddenly felt out of place if not comforting the smaller boy.  _

_ “Nothin, just anxiety, makes me like this sometimes” Link replied, his voice wet and hoarse from crying.  _

_ “Really?” Rhett asked, curious but not unkind.  _

_ “Yeah, sorry to wake you, I’ll be quieter” Link scoffed, burying his tear-stained face into the crook of his elbow.  _

_ “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell” Rhett whispered, still frozen in place. “I didn’t know it was this bad”  _

_ Guilt hit Rhett like a semi - memories of his father yelling at him in the middle of the night whenever he called out for his Mama. He’d had no choice but to snap out of his childish fears when he was younger, many nights he laid awake, terrified whenever darkness painted the sky. They’d sent Rhett off to summer camp the next year, forcing him to grow up and start acting his age - whatever that meant for an eight-year-old.  _

_ As Link choked out another sob, Rhett crept closer in the cramped bathroom, a trembling hand reaching for a washcloth. As he meticulously wetted the cloth and wrung it out, Link cowered his head back into the toilet bowl.  _

_ “Here” Rhett said softly, brushing away the hairs that fell over the nape of the smaller boy’s neck, replacing them with the cool washcloth - he remembered how his Mama used to soothe him with a similar technique. “This should help” _

_ “Thanks”  _

_ Wordlessly, Rhett sunk to the floor next to the trembling body, carefully pulling the glasses from the clammy complexion and placing them onto the tile. He gently ran his fingers through Link’s fringe, pushing it away from his forehead as Link panted into the toilet, his breaths gradually slowing.  _

_ Whispering, Rhett attempted to reassure him. “You’re okay Link, you’re doing great”  _

_ He felt awful, realising that Link’s nightly ritual of calling his Mom was obviously an anxious habit, he must be really homesick. Maybe it was separation anxiety? Was his Mom sick or something? _

_ “You feelin’ homesick?”  _

_ “Yeah” Link croaked, nodding pathetically.  _

_ “Sorry to hear that man, you’re bein’ real brave though'' Rhett murmured, rubbing his large palm between Link’s shoulder blades. “Let’s get you back to bed”  _

After that night, Link slept more soundly and Rhett made more of an effort to be a better friend. He’d wordlessly slide a bag of chips over to Link from his box of snacks or offer to help whenever Link was stumped on a math equation - small gestures. 

But still, time seemed to move by at an impossibly slow pace. 

Rhett flicked his eyes between the four walls for the thousandth time, not allowing his gaze to settle on the other boy for more than a second. He was curled up on his bed, headphones nestled on top of freshly showered, choppy hair - squinting through his glasses at something on his laptop. Rhett huffed, wishing he hadn’t let Amie borrow his laptop for her time in quarantine, he wanted nothing more than to watch mindless cartoons right now. 

He wondered what Amie was doing right now, he should probably text her and find out. He made a mental note to do that later, he couldn’t be bothered right now. Not that he had anything better to do than to stare at the walls.  _ Huh.  _ That probably meant something he wasn’t willing to unpack right now.

He thought about how different things would have been if he had been able to stay in a dorm with Amie for the two weeks instead, they’d probably be fucking right now - it’s all they ever really seemed to do. Rhett wasn’t particularly romantic and Amie didn’t particularly care, so it worked out pretty well - date nights consisted of cheap takeouts and sex. It was ideal for Rhett. Little effort and maximum reward. 

A giggle from Link travelled across the room, wedging itself into Rhett’s brain. A few days ago, the noise would have instantly infuriated him. He gazed over at Link, watching his eyes scrunch as he stifled another laugh, entranced with whatever he was watching on the screen. He hated to admit it, but he’d softened up a  _ lot _ towards Link. His chest burned whenever he thought about Link shivering on the bathroom floor, crying for his Mama and that made him feel oddly protective over the smaller boy. 

He pushed the thought to the back of his mind hastily, fumbling around for his phone and opening his messages with Amie, sending some suggestive crap and a wink emoji, hoping she’d take the bait. With any luck, she’d send back a photo of her in her bra and he could get in the shower and  _ finally _ jerk off. It had been almost a week since they’d last exchanged pictures and Rhett was getting more and more frustrated by the day - not knowing what she was up to, who she was rooming with, not being able to swing by her place and fuck whenever he needed to get rid of all of his pent up energy.

The three dots appeared on his screen and his cock twitched in his pants like a Pavlovian response,  _ finally.  _ His eyes darted over to Link who was thankfully still engrossed in his laptop, Rhett pressed the heel of his palm against his crotch, willing himself to at least wait until he was in the bathroom. 

**[** **_Sorry babe. I’m busy]_ **

Rhett audibly groaned with frustration, flopping over onto his stomach and burying his face into his pillow, immediately pissed off with the universe. He just wanted to get off, he had already exhausted all of the fantasies in his brain involving Amie, without anything new it was no use. And besides, how could she be busy?! Everyone was supposed to be in quarantine, come to think about it - she hadn’t even told him who she was rooming with, nothing about this situation was fair.

“What are you sulking for?” An amused voice asked, the sound of headphones clattering against the nightstand travelling across the room. 

“Nothin’” Rhett grunted in return, not lifting his head from its pillowed confine to look at his roommate. 

Teasingly, Link pressed on. “C’mon, tell me!”

“Link, drop it” 

“Pleaaaaase!” Link whined, getting to his feet with a ceremonious crack of his bones. 

“No, s’embarrasing man, leave me alone” Rhett mumbled into his pillow, finally discarding his phone to the floor in anger. 

“Just tell me” Link sighed impatiently, shuffling to stand at the end of Rhett’s bed. 

“Fine, I desperately need to get off, I’m hard as shit and my girlfriend is too busy to help me, doing god knows what with god knows who!  _ Happy now! _ ?” Rhett snapped, his fingers curling tightly around the sheets as he shot his head up to glare at his roommate. 

After a moment of silent contemplation, Link spoke up. “I could help you” 

Rhett snorted, shaking his head. “How are you gonna find out what she’s doin’, Sherlock?” 

“I meant I could help  _ you…”  _ Link lowered his voice to a whisper. “... _ Get off”  _

Rhett froze, the laughter immediately seizing. 

“Not funny Link” 

“I’m not laughin’” Link’s voice wobbled, taking another small step towards Rhett. 

“I’m not... gay” Rhett replied quietly, feeling like Link had just lit a match and set him alight. 

“Nothin’ ‘bout it has to be gay, you could just watch” 

Breath hitching, Rhett echoed “ _ W-Watch _ ?”

“It’d be just like porn, you coulda used my laptop for that but the college blocked it on their wifi - I wanna help you out, I owe you one for lookin' after me the other night” Link shrugged, pragmatically choosing his words. 

“I dunno man, is this not cheatin’ on Amie?” Rhett asked after a moment of quiet contemplation, his eyes nervously darting around the room. 

Link snorted, shaking his head empathetically. “What d’ya really think she’s doing right now?” 

“Hey!” Rhett snapped, painfully aware that what Link was implying was probably true. 

“Yes or no, Rhett?” Link asked impatiently, foot-tapping against the carpeted floor. 

“Maybe?” Rhett trembled, ignoring how his cock was painfully straining in his boxers. 

“Well I’m jus’ gonna go back to my bed, do my thing, you can watch if you want, if not the shower is all yours buddyroll” Link said simply, casually crossing the room in a few small steps and clambering onto his bed. 

Rhett blinked, scrunching his eyes tightly to ensure he was actually awake. This wasn’t really cheating was it? Just watching? 

A muffled groan snapped him from his internal debate, his neck craning to see what Link was doing. Rhett desperately tried to wet his mouth, licking his lips frantically as he watched his roommate palm himself through his linen shorts. He shouldn’t do this, he should just get in the shower and jerk off, quick and efficient and forget this ever happened. 

That didn’t happen though, instead, his eyes stayed glued on Link as the smaller boy shimmied out of his gym shorts and boxers, ass propped in the air as he fumbled around in his nightstand for a small cylindrical bottle. Rhett watched, dumbstruck as Link coated his fingers in the clear liquid, stroking his impressively long cock a few times, slicking it up before positioning himself on his back. 

Rhett quickly followed suit, tugging his shorts and briefs off before tucking them under his pillow, wrapping a loose fist around his own uncomfortably hard cock. Entranced, he watched as his roommate reached between his own thighs, spreading his ass with one hand and using the fingers on his others to tease around his tight hole. Rhett almost came instantly as Link bucked his hips under the sensation, his plump bottom lip pulled tight between his teeth. 

For what felt like hours, the room was silent apart from the soft groans coming from Link and the subtle creak of the bed-frame whenever he writhed against the mattress. Rhett stayed silent, almost chewing a hole through his lip as he continued to watch the show Link was putting on for him. 

“Does it feel good?” Rhett asked quietly, breaking the silence as his hand stroked lazily over his leaking cock. 

“ _ Real good _ ” Link drawled, his back arching as his fingers probed deeper, the filthy slick sounds filling the room. Rhett squinted, trying to get a better look at the tight, pink hole, now dripping with lube - never in his life would he have  _ ever  _ thought  _ this _ could be so damn sexy, and  _ god _ did he need to get a better look.

Desperately, Rhett pleaded, “L-Link, please, come over here, I- I need to see you,  _ properly _ ” 

Link groaned mutely as he pulled his wet digits from his hole, grossly wiping them on his bedsheets before collecting the tube of lube in one hand and sauntering over to Rhett’s bed. Rhett immediately scooted up, sitting propped against the headboard to give Link more space ( _ and, of course, to get a better view).  _

“You like what I was doin’ before?” Link asked quietly, popping the cap on the tube, slathering his fingers in the clear substance. Rhett nodded furiously in response, offering his palm out for his own share of lube, his legs twitching as Link poured the cool lubricant over his hand. 

Link settled back on his knees, back arched and ass propped less than a foot away from Rhett’s face. His hand reached around again, spreading his legs further as he toyed with his hole sloppily, fueled by the heated grunts from the taller boy behind him. The sound of Rhett furiously jerking himself, slick and hot with lube, had Link’s cock dribbling over the bed. 

Whining, Link cried out “ _ Rhett…”  _ as his fingers pushed inside of himself again, his skin coated in sweat as he bucked forward, pelvis crushed into the mattress. 

“Link, can I touch you? Not like...  _ that...  _ I just need to feel you” Rhett whispered, his neck red and blotchy from embarrassed arousal. Link nodded furiously, almost squeaking as a large palm rested on the back of his thigh, squeezing the flesh ever-so-slightly. Rhett’s hand trembled as it curled possessively around Link’s thigh, helping the smaller boy spread his legs even wider - he noticed how different Link’s toned, hair dusted thigh felt to the dainty, more feminine one he usually had in his grip. He noticed how he liked Link’s even  _ more. _

“ _ Mmmmph, _ feels good” Link moaned, fucking himself back onto his fingers, edging his ass even closer to Rhett’s face “I’m so wet,  _ Rhett, _ could just sit back on your cock if I wanted to” 

“ _ Oh fuck! _ ” Rhett cried out, willing himself to last longer, he needed to hear more.

“You’d let me, wouldn’t you? You’d love to have me squirming on your cock, wouldn’t you McLaughlin?” Link babbled, too horny to care about the filth falling from his mouth. 

“Y-yeah” 

Rhett had an incredibly large ego, nothing in his life thus far had ever left him speechless, he  _ always  _ had a snarky comeback.  _ Until now. _

He knew he’d met his match with the  once-shy-and-clumsy-jackass he’d known just over a week ago. 

“Maybe next time, I still have you alone for a few days” Link taunted, slowly pulling his fingers out, teasing the tight ring of muscle a few times pulling another groan from Rhett’s throat. He quickly turned, scrambling to his knees in front of Rhett, his knees  _ just  _ brushing against Rhett’s burning thighs. “I’m close, you gonna come with me?” 

Rhett nodded, his jaw slack as he watched Link with awe, allowing himself to steal a look at Link’s fingers curled around his swollen cock. 

“Y-you want me to  _ help  _ you?” Link ventured, his pink tongue darting out to wet his lips as his gaze travelled to Rhett’s cock, sitting hard and heavy between his legs. Rhett nodded fiercely, not caring that another guy was about to touch his dick, he’d mentally checked out ages ago - who cared when it felt  _ this  _ good.

Link took it one step further, like he always did, practically tackling Rhett until he was flat against the mattress with one arm pinned above his head. With his free hand, Link reached between their sweaty bodies, wrapping long and skilful fingers around his roommates cock and jerking him quickly. He drank in the whimpers coming from Rhett’s lips, staring down at him with mouths just centimetres apart as his wrist worked rapidly. 

Rhett lurched forwards, trying to capture Link’s mouth with his own, but Link pulled back, tutting at him playfully as he tightened the grip around his pinned wrist. “Nuh-uh, no kissing” 

“ _ Please _ ” Rhett begged, his legs thrashing as he hurtled towards orgasm, his eyes dark and glued to Link’s mouth. 

“If you still want it after this” Link teased, twisting his wrist expertly around the head of Rhett’s cock, before gasping out “ _ You wanna come on me?” _

“Fuck!  _ Link!”  _ Rhett cried, breaking free from the smaller boy’s hold - clambering onto his knees as the beginnings of his orgasm tickled the base of his spine, his fist a blur over his cock as he pointed towards Link. With a final cry, Rhett finally came, hot ropes of come painting over Link’s chest as he milked his cock, legs trembling beneath him. 

Before he had a chance to react, Link was coming too, his own release coating his chest, Rhett’s thigh and mattress, whimpering at the arousal of having two lots of come over his torso. 

“ _ God”  _ Rhett exhaled shakily, flopping back onto his pillow, carefully arranging his legs to dodge the sticky patch of Link’s release. “ _ Shit”  _

Link stayed silent for a moment, wiping his clean hand over his face as he caught his breath. He cleared his throat, untangling his legs and padding into the ensuite to clean up. 

Rhett stared at the ceiling, thighs still trembling from the intensity of his orgasm. He couldn’t find it in himself to care that his life had just essentially been tipped upside down, everything he thought he knew about himself dismantled by a boy who was a stranger just two weeks ago. He tilted his head, eyes scanning over the battered Chuck Taylors on the floor, the pile of Reeses’ wrappers on the desk and the dorky graphic tee hanging over his desk chair - he couldn’t help but smile. 

After a few minutes, Link silently crept back into the room, avoiding Rhett’s eyes and traipsing back to his own bed. Rhett felt like he had been winded, he was desperate for Link’s attention - everything he thought he knew about himself had now changed in the space of twenty minutes.

“Hey, what’re you doin’?” Rhett asked softly, wiping himself over with his boxers and tugging his shorts back on, propping himself up onto his elbows to look at Link.

“You got off, didn’t you?” Link huffed, pulling his gym shorts over his legs and standing up to tidy around his bed. 

“Link…” Rhett sighed, practically jumping to his feet, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. 

“It’s alright, we don’t have to do this man, I get it, you regret it” Link laughed flatly, shaking his head as he crossed the room, plucking his lube from Rhett’s bed. Rhett reached out, wrapping his fingers around Link’s wrist and tugging him against his chest, his free hand tangling into the soft hairs sat at the base of the smaller boy’s neck. 

“Shut up” Rhett murmured softly, ducking his head to press a soft kiss to the corner of Link’s mouth. He didn’t bother trying to verbalise his feelings, he didn’t want to unpack that right now. All he wanted was Link.

“Rhett…” Link warned, pushing at the taller boy’s bare chest, studying him with a sceptical gaze. 

“ _ I still want it _ ” Rhett repeated Link’s phrase from earlier, tightening the grip he had on raven hair as he felt himself being pushed back onto his mattress, his roommate's lips chasing his own.    
  


**Author's Note:**

> @rhettjmc on tumblr <3


End file.
